Saturn IB
|
|
| Function |
Apollo spacecraft development; S-IVB stage development in support of Saturn V; Skylab crew launcher |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer |
Chrysler (S-IB) Douglas (S-IVB) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 141.6 ft (43.2 m) without payload |
| Diameter | 21.67 ft (6.61 m) |
| Mass | 1,300,220 lb (589,770 kg) without payload |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | 46,000 lb (21,000 kg) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites |
LC-37 & LC-34, Cape Canaveral LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center |
| Total launches | 9 |
| Successes | 9 |
| Failures | 0 |
| First flight | February 26, 1966 |
| Last flight | July 15, 1975 |
| Notable payloads | Unmanned Apollo CSM Unmanned Apollo LM Manned Apollo CSM |
| First stage - S-IB | |
| Length | 80.17 feet (24.44 m) |
| Diameter | 21.42 feet (6.53 m) |
| Empty mass | 92,500 pounds (42,000 kg) |
| Gross mass | 973,000 pounds (441,000 kg) |
| Propellant mass | 880,500 pounds (399,400 kg) |
| Engines | 8 × H-1 |
| Thrust | 1,600,000 lbf (7,100 kN) |
| Specific impulse | 272 seconds (2.67 km/s) |
| Burn time | 150 seconds |
| Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
| Second stage - S-IVB-200 | |
| Length | 58.42 feet (17.81 m) |
| Diameter | 21.42 feet (6.53 m) |
| Empty mass | 23,400 pounds (10,600 kg) |
| Gross mass | 251,900 pounds (114,300 kg) |
| Propellant mass | 228,500 pounds (103,600 kg) |
| Engines | 1 Rocketdyne J-2 |
| Thrust | 200,000 lbf (890 kN) |
| Specific impulse | 420 seconds (4.1 km/s) |
| Burn time | 480 seconds |
| Fuel | LH2/LOX |
The Saturn IB (pronounced "one B", also known as the Uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It replaced the S-IV second stage of the Saturn I with the much more powerful S-IVB, able to launch a partially fueled Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) or a fully fueled Lunar Module (LM) into low Earth orbit for early flight tests before the larger Saturn V needed for lunar flight was ready.
By sharing the S-IVB upper stage, the Saturn IB and Saturn V provided a common interface to the Apollo spacecraft. The only major difference was that the S-IVB on the Saturn V burned only part of its propellant to achieve Earth orbit, so it could be restarted for translunar injection. The S-IVB on the Saturn IB needed all of its propellant to achieve Earth orbit.
The Saturn IB launched two unmanned CSM suborbital flights, one unmanned LM orbital flight, and the first manned CSM orbital mission (first planned as Apollo 1, later flown as Apollo 7). It also launched one orbital mission, AS-203, without a payload so the S-IVB would have residual liquid hydrogen fuel. This mission supported the design of the restartable version of the S-IVB used in the Saturn V, by observing the behavior of the liquid hydrogen in weightlessness.
In 1973, the year after the Apollo lunar program ended, three Apollo CSM/Saturn IBs ferried crews to the Skylab space station. In 1975, one last Apollo/Saturn IB launched the Apollo portion of the joint US-USSR Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). A backup Apollo CSM/Saturn IB was assembled and made ready for a Skylab rescue mission but never flown.
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